Ghost of the Present
by Amelia-Hawke
Summary: Sequel to Ghost from the Past. Commander Jo Shepard has returned and is working alongside Cerberus to stop the Collectors but the galaxy isn't like she remembered it. Even Sid has changed but two things remain the same: Sid has Shepard's back and is as crazy as ever. How will the Collectors fare against two Shepards? Rated T for language and violence. ME2 fic.
1. Hard Goodbyes

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from this story (except maybe Sid and her crew) as everything belongs to BioWare. Most of my information is also gotten from either the **_**Mass Effect Datapad**_** app for iPod/iPad or the Mass Effect wiki.**

**Spoiler Alert: this story will include spoilers for the following – **_**Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2**_** and the following DLC: **_**Arrival, Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker, Zaeed: Price of Revenge, Kasumi: Stolen Memory**_** and possibly **_**Normandy Crash Site**_**, depending on how I feel.**

**As this is a sequel to **_**Ghost from the Past**_**, it will obviously contain spoilers for that story. If you haven't read it, I would recommend that you do read it otherwise this won't make much sense.**

**First off, thank you all for the support for **_**Ghost from the Past**_** and I hope you enjoy this story just as much. I do skip quite a bit of the beginning of the game but it all makes sense and I have done my best to make the timeline clear. This chapter happens shortly after the destruction of the **_**Normandy**_**. Reviews are greatly appreciated, especially as I am not very good with the emotional stuff so please let me know if you have any suggestions to improve it.**

**Secondly, thank you to everyone who participated in my poll as to who Sid's romantic interest will be. If curiosity gets the better of you, I have stated it in my profile however if you would rather like to wait and see, I won't spoil the surprise.**

**As far as an update schedule is concerned, I don't have one and this will be an update whenever I have a chapter done due to my other stories, my original writing and university commitments. I can't guarantee when an update will happen, only that it will happen. I am also aiming to keep my chapters between 5 000 and 6 000 words because this seems like a good length. If you would like longer chapters, let me know.**

**Chapter 1: Hard Goodbyes**

The hall was huge and the ceiling reached high above, almost putting the Council Chambers to shame. Too many chairs to count had been placed in the body of the room in long lines with an aisle down the middle so that people could walk freely around and easily find their seats. A large stage had been constructed at the front of the room – with the chairs facing it – and a handful of chairs had been positioned at an angle, facing the body of the room. A podium with a microphone sat in the middle of the stage so a speaker could easily address the large room. Alliance flags took up large portions of the wall and a large framed photograph lined with flowers had been positioned on the edge of the stage, overlooking the audience.

Sid's eyes were focused on the photograph of Jo. In it, she looked like the Alliance soldier everyone had come to admire: her hair tied back in a regulation bun, her dress blues immaculate and a smile that said she was proud to serve. It was hard to believe that she was really gone. The _Normandy_ had been destroyed in a surprise attack by a ship that was more advanced than it should have been and while Sid should have been focused on this detail, she couldn't bring herself to think about the attack. It was too hard to try to put the pieces together about who attacked them or why or how they even knew where the _Normandy_ would be.

Navigator Pressly had died in the initial explosion, along with ten other servicemen. There had been no time to react between the sudden appearance of the ship and its first attack so there was nothing that could be done to save these lives. Despite their noble sacrifice, Jo's death was the hardest on everyone. She'd gone back to save Joker and had been sucked into the dark void of space just as the _Normandy_ exploded. It was a cruel twist of fate. Jo and Sid had finally reconnected. They were finally sisters – friends, even - and now she was dead. Sid fought against the pressure building in her chest. She would not cry. She could feel tears forming in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to get rid of them.

Even though the hall was huge, every single chair was occupied. Members of the press were spread throughout, standing along the side-lines, with their cameras filming every second. The first few rows of chairs were filled with friends of Jo: the crew of the _Normandy_ and others she had served with in the past. The rest of the chairs had been filled with people who had never personally known the Commander but still wished to pay their respects. Admiral Hackett and Captain Anderson were seated on the stage, along with the members of the Council and other officers from the Alliance that Sid did not recognise, so that they could deliver their eulogies.

Sid had barely heard a word that had been said as her thoughts continued to struggle with the reality that Jo really was dead. The great Commander Shepard seemed invincible to everyone that no one considered the possibility that she could die. The Alliance had been unable to recover her body and if it had been anyone else, Sid would have clung to the hope that her sister might still be alive. But Jo would never let people wonder about her. She would not let this publicity stunt of a funeral continue in her name because, this was nothing less than a publicity stunt. The Council never really believed in Jo as a Spectre, yet here they were, on stage and recorded by every camera, saying their goodbyes and tearfully proclaiming that the Alliance had lost a spectacular soldier and they had lost a talented Spectre. It was enough to make Sid mad.

Sid looked to the floor as a wave of guilt washed over her. She had willingly stayed away for years and now she regretted that decision now. Maybe if she had come to Jo sooner, things may have worked out differently? A tear ran down her cheek and she was suddenly startled when Dr Chakwas placed a comforting hand on her forearm. She looked up and smiled sadly at the older woman. While she was grateful for the gesture, she wished it had been Joker who had chosen to sit beside her and tried to comfort her. Instead, the helmsman took the chair on the opposite end of the row and had not so much as glanced in her direction once. He hadn't said a word to her since the attack on the _Normandy_ and it was discovered that Jo wouldn't be coming back. Kaidan was sitting in the middle of their row with his arms crossed and his attention focused on the floor, too lost in his own grief to even consider comforting someone else.

After successfully defeating Saren and stalling the Reapers, the idea that any member of the _Normandy_ would die sounded so ridiculous, no one was prepared for it. The danger should have been over, at least until the Reapers invaded. Patrolling space, looking for Geth was just a way to appease the Council as they continued to live in denial. There wasn't supposed to be anything dangerous. The Geth had retreated back into the Perseus Veil with the defeat of Saren and Sovereign. There was no reason for them to be anywhere beyond the Veil. Yet the Council still insisted on sending the crew of the _Normandy_ on some pointless mission and now Jo, Navigator Pressly and ten others were dead. And for what? No one wanted to believe the Reapers existed. Why should Jo's death change that?

After a while, the last eulogy was spoken and everyone moved to another room to reminisce and mingle. The room was much smaller and only a handful of press members were allowed into the room. It was sickening to think that some people would use this time to further their careers or make important connections through politics yet it was still happening everywhere, as people murmured their condolences for the galaxy's loss between drinks and fancy food that the Council insisted on buying, if only to keep up appearances and make sure the important people – the diplomats, wealthy businesspeople and the like, not the people who actually knew Jo – were satisfied.

The crew of the _Normandy_ gathered in one corner of the room, mostly sitting at the tables furthest away from the political ambitions and staring off into the distance, trying to escape the notice of pretty much everyone. They were all too numb to even consider talking to anyone about what happened, least of all the press. Sid rested an elbow on the table's surface and then placed her chin in the palm of her hand. What would happen now? Jo had been the glue that kept this crew together. Without her…Sid swallowed past the lump in her throat. Even thinking those two words was hard and now she realised there probably wasn't a reason for the non-Alliance crew members to stick around anymore. As if she couldn't feel any worse.

Some shouting nearby caught Sid's attention and she looked up to see what was happening. The next table had some other members of the _Normandy_'s crew but they were no longer focused on their grief. Apparently, Kaidan was standing near the table and shouting at…Joker? Sid frowned. That didn't seem right. Joker was still sitting in his chair with his head drooping forward as he willingly took the brunt of Kaidan's verbal attacks. No one was willing to intervene, either because they were too scared of Kaidan (biotics didn't mix well with strong emotions) or they believed Joker deserved whatever was happening. It was probably a good thing that between the music and the size of the room, no one beyond the crew of the _Normandy_ could see or hear what was happening. Sid prepared herself to intervene and made her way over.

"It's your fault she's dead," Kaidan practically shouted at Joker who continued to stare miserably at the floor.

No one had noticed Sid's arrival and it took her a few moments to process what Kaidan was shouting about. He blamed Joker for Jo's death and no one was coming to his defence. Did that mean everyone blamed him too? Sid took a deep breathe to steady her nerves and just as Kaidan was about to shout something else, she intervened and stood between Kaidan and Joker.

"Enough," she said loud enough to get everyone's attention and with enough anger that told Kaidan she meant business. "This is not the time or the place, Kaidan."

Kaidan looked at her angrily. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even be here but I shouldn't be surprised that you would defend him."

"I am not defending anyone," Sid snapped. Her anger, frustration and annoyance made it hard to keep her voice steady yet, somehow, she managed. "Do you really think Jo would want this to happen? That she would want her crew – her friends – fighting each other? You're doing a really good job of honouring her memory."

There was a moment of silence as everyone let that sink in and there were a few guilty or ashamed expressions. Kaidan then glared at her before marching off, disappearing into the sea of people and he didn't look back. Sid turned around to face Joker but he still refused to look at her. When she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, he pulled away from her and she hovered in place as the pain washed over her. She had lost her sister, the man she had regarded as a big brother and the man she cared deeply for within days of each other. She tried to swallow the lump that resurfaced and then marched off towards the bar. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't push the emotions aside like she had done for most of her life. She wanted to cry; she wanted to scream at someone; she wanted to punch something. All at once.

When she reached the bar, she couldn't bring herself to speak and she suddenly found it hard to breathe. There was just so much hurt and grief. How was anyone supposed to move forward from this? What was the point of opening herself up to people if she would only be rewarded with pain? Sid collapsed in the nearest chair and realised that she had no idea of what she was supposed to do next. She had intended on following Jo's lead for a time, until she got her affairs in order and could figure out whether she would return to smuggling or not. Now that future was lost. No one else would take a chance with a smuggler joining their crew. No one else was preparing to fight the Reapers.

After a few more minutes, Wrex, Tali, Liara and Garrus joined her at her table. Liara's eyes were ready and puffy so she had been crying too. Garrus looked angry but it was hard to say what about: the Alliance and Council's refusal to go after the ship that destroyed the _Normandy_? Kaidan's behaviour? Or himself? Wrex was also unusually quiet and not looking for a fight. For a few long minutes, they sat in silence, remembering Jo as the Alliance Commander who took a chance on all of them and they were all better for it. There was no way to repay the debt they owed to Jo and there was no way to thank her.

"We're thinking of heading to Chora's Den," Garrus suddenly said. "To toast Shepard."

Wrex grunted quietly. "It seems more fitting than this…political bullshit."

It certainly made more sense and would be a more fitting place for a memorial. Jo never was one for formal events. Chora's Den had brought most of them together and it was the site of their first mission together when Wrex and Garrus helped Jo to defeat Fist which then led them to Tali. Hell, it was even the place where Sid had been arrested and set a chain of events in motion which resulted in her joining the mission.

Sid nodded her head slowly. "I think Jo would approve of that."

"You'll join us then?" Liara asked.

"Go on ahead," Sid told them. "I'll meet you there."

"You're sure?" Tali asked and her voice was hoarse. She must have also been crying.

"Yeah. I want to take care of a few things first," she answered and her eyes sought out Joker.

Garrus followed her line of sight and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Good luck."

Sid smiled as the small group departed and disappeared once they left the room. Joker had already made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her otherwise he wouldn't have pulled away from her or he would have sat next to her during the funeral. He would at least make eye contact once in a while. She hated his silence. She hated not knowing what she had done to deserve the cold shoulder. Sid got to her feet and headed back towards Joker. Some liquid courage would have been nice but she needed a clear head for this conversation. Well, she probably didn't qualify with the emotions running through her. Regardless, she forced herself to walk and then sit down in the chair beside Joker.

"You should leave, Sid," he told her quietly. His gaze was firmly fixed on the table in front of him.

"Why?" she asked…no, she pleaded and she hated it but for once in her life, she couldn't go through this alone. She _needed_ Joker more than she wanted to admit. He refused to answer the question. "Joker?" Still, he said nothing. "Jeff?" she whispered in a voice that was thick with emotion, hoping he would snap out of this.

The use of his first name must have stirred something in him or maybe it was because of how pathetic she sounded but whatever the reason, he finally looked at her. Hurt, grief and guilt were all clear on his face. "Because Kaidan was right. I am the reason she's dead."

Sid looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"She came back to get _me_," he answered angrily. "I'm the reason why she's dead." He looked away from her again. "Just…leave me alone, Sid."

Sid stared at him in shock for a few seconds. She wanted to argue with him or shout at him or something but the words just wouldn't come. So she did the only thing she could: she left. It had nothing to do with Joker's explanation and it was more of an effort to get away from the emotions and the entire situation. It wouldn't work, obviously. She exited the room and went to stand in the empty corridor outside. The openness and the emptiness was a relief. She leant her back against the closest wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She felt like that lost, terrified thirteen year old girl back on Morkal's ship just after the raid on Mindoir so she hugged her knees against her chest and leaned her forehead against her knees. The tears started to flow freely down her cheek and there was nothing she could do to stop them. She really was alone.

After what felt like a lifetime, the tears finally stopped coming and Sid lifted her head up and rested it against the wall. What was she supposed to do now? Joker blamed himself so much that he couldn't face her anymore, despite the fact that she didn't blame him for Jo's death but he wouldn't even give her a chance to explain that. Maybe she didn't have all of the facts of what happened on the _Normandy_ after everyone else was evacuated. So what? Joker would never intentionally put anyone in that kind of position and Jo would never leave a man behind. Her grief was replaced by anger. Kaidan was being completely unfair to Joker.

Under normal circumstances, Sid would never have sought someone out with the intention of yelling at them. She always kept a cool and calm demeanour because emotions could lead to serious mistakes and in her line of business, serious mistakes often led to death. It was also far easier to keep emotions buried so deep that she could ignore them and pretend she wasn't hurt or angry. But these were not normal circumstances. Sid was not in her right mind and the last time she had to deal with such strong emotions, she was a prisoner on board a Batarian smuggling vessel. The Batarians didn't exactly teach her how she should handle those emotions and so she soon found herself outside Kaidan's Citadel apartment.

She didn't care that she looked like a mess or that Kaidan probably didn't deserve what was coming. When there was no immediate response to the doorbell, Sid guessed he wouldn't answer or that he wasn't home. That was probably a good thing. Just as she turned to leave, the door opened and Kaidan was standing in the doorway, looking a bit confused. Perhaps she had been sitting in that corridor longer than she realised.

"You are one selfish asshole, Kaidan Alenko," Sid spat with more anger than she realised.

Kaidan blinked at her as he tried to make sense of her words. He must have had the time to cool off from his earlier outrage. "Sid? What-?"

She cut him off. "Do you honestly think you're the only one who grieves Jo? That you are the only one who lost someone? Thanks to you, Jo isn't the only important person I've lost."

When he finally realised what she was talking about, he was angry again. "Joker killed her. He's the reason we lost anyone."

"He's the reason we didn't lose more people," Sid argued angrily. "And if you want someone to blame, then blame the Council or the Alliance for sending us out there in the first place. Or, here's an idea: blame the ship that actually fired on us!"

"She went back for Joker!" Kaidan countered just as loudly. "The blame lies with him!"

Sid unconsciously clenched her hands into tight fists and it was possible that she might just let her anger get the better of her and punch him in the face. "No. The blame lies with all of us." When Kaidan was taken aback by that statement, it only infuriated her more. "You readily throw blame around yet you can't accept your own part in Jo's death. You claim to have loved her then you should have known she would have made sure every last person was off the _Normandy _before she would leave. You didn't hang around to make sure she got off safely. We all knew her and none of us tried to help her."

"You're wrong," Kaidan murmured quietly.

"I am not wrong and that is what scares you," Sid replied in an even if quieter tone. "You want to heap all the blame on Joker without accepting any of it. Maybe it's a good thing Jo isn't around to see this." She started to walk backwards and then quietly added "You're a coward, Kaidan."

She then turned around and started walking forward without a clear idea of where she was going. All of the anger had left her and yelling at Kaidan didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it just made her feel even worse. Why couldn't she push the pain away, like she had done all those years ago? Why was this all such a mess? She wrapped her arms around herself, hoping to force the pain away but it just wouldn't listen. She knew that she wasn't only angry with Kaidan but with herself too. She had made so many mistakes and now Jo had paid the ultimate price. For all of them. It wasn't until she somehow made it to the Presidium that Sid finally started to pay attention to her surroundings. How did she manage to get here?

"Sydney?" a voice said behind her and she was surprised to find a pair of C-Sec guards standing there. Were they here to arrest her? Without Jo protecting her, there was nothing stopping them.

When she nodded her head in answer, the other guard spoke. "You need to come with us."

Sid nodded her head in defeat. She didn't have the strength or the willpower to fight them. It was at that moment that she realised she didn't care anymore if they arrested her or not. At least going to prison would give her some direction in life. Prison life was all about routine and sticking to a schedule, after all. With a C-Sec guard on either side, they escorted her to the C-Sec Academy. Sid fought to keep her emotions in check when so many memories came flooding back. The guards led her towards an office which was odd. Shouldn't she be in an interrogation room or a holding cell? The door opened and once she took a step inside, the guards backed off, choosing to wait outside. The door closed behind the guards.

The office resembled Ambassador Udina's office, only this one was much larger. The desk was in the centre of the room, surrounded by bookshelves and completed with a balcony overlooking the Presidium. As nice as the office was, it was not what caught Sid's attention. An older man with greying hair and piercing blue eyes was sitting behind the desk in his crisp Alliance uniform. Behind him, leaning against the bookshelf, was a man she recognised as Captain Anderson. While they both looked grim, it was not directed at her. Sid couldn't stop herself from wondering if she was in the right place. Maybe the guards took her to the wrong room.

"Please take a seat," the man behind the desk said and indicated one of the empty chairs opposite him.

Sid obeyed and sat down slowly, still trying to make sense of what was happening as well as her conflicting emotions. "Am I under arrest?" she asked quietly.

"No," Captain Anderson answered. "Although you should be."

Captain Anderson was aware of some of the crimes that Sid had committed, between what she did to help steal the _Normandy_ and whatever Jo had included in her reports to the Alliance. Anderson had also been Jo's mentor so it made sense that she would confide in him about certain things. He had enough power to make sure she was thrown in the deepest cell for the rest of her life and he obviously knew that.

Sid glanced between the two of them, trying to figure out if this was some kind of sick joke. "I don't understand."

"I am Admiral Steven Hackett and you already know Captain Anderson," the man introduced himself and while Sid knew the name, she didn't know what he looked like. "I am…was Commander Shepard's superior officer."

"Would you like a drink?" Captain Anderson offered and indicated the bottle of whiskey on the bookshelf beside him.

"Thanks but I'll pass. I'm guessing I'll need a clear head for this conversation," she replied, still thoroughly confused.

Admiral Hackett clasped his hands on the desk and leant forward in his chair, his gaze fixed on Sid. "During one of her trips to the Citadel, Commander Shepard made us aware of your presence aboard the _Normandy_. We know that you are Ghost as well as Sydney Shepard, who had been presumed dead after the events on Mindoir. We are also aware of everything you did to help track down Saren, legal or otherwise."

Sid swallowed nervously. "I had no idea she informed anyone else."

"She wanted to keep it a secret," Anderson answered. "She also told us the deal you made with the late Executor Pallin."

What did the deal have to do with anything? With Executor Pallin's death, no one else knew about the deal, aside from Jo, and therefore it didn't really matter…or did it?

"Is this where I confess to all my crimes and beg for mercy?" she asked and continued to glance between the two of them. She still had no idea where this conversation was headed or what Hackett and Anderson wanted from her.

Admiral Hackett sighed quietly, probably running out of patience with her. "No."

"We are prepared to keep your identity – as Ghost and as Commander Shepard's sister – a secret," Captain Anderson continued. "It will be easy as you have the _Normandy_'s loyalty and Executor Pallin is no longer with us."

Sid shook her head slowly, wondering if all of this was a dream. "I'm still not following you."

"We would like to offer you a job," Admiral Hackett finally revealed.

Sid stared at him in surprise and could only gape at him for a few moments. "Is this…Are you…Wait…What?"

"You look like you could use that drink now," Anderson offered and poured her a glass of whiskey which she readily accepted. What was going on?

* * *

The atmosphere in Chora's Den was subdued, despite the best efforts if the music and the dancers. A lot of people were still grieving the loss of their loved ones during Saren's attack on the Citadel a few weeks back and many members of the Alliance who didn't care for the Council's memorial had come to mourn the loss of Shepard or the others who had died on the _Normandy_ that everyone else had forgotten here. Everyone in this room had lost someone over the past few weeks. Garrus looked around the table at his friends. They were no different. They were all staring sadly into their untouched drinks, hoping there were answers in the swirling liquids.

There was still no sign of Sid and quite a lot of time had passed since they invited her to join them. Garrus had been keeping a close eye on Sid since the _Normandy_ went down, partly because he liked her and partly because he felt like he owed it to Shepard. Sid had coped well, at first, and then, things went downhill from there. When the reality of the situation started to sink in, Sid struggled to accept it and then she started to become distant, perhaps retreating to her private world where Shepard was still alive. No one claimed to understand the relationship between Shepard and Sid but it was clear that Sid cared deeply for her sister otherwise she wouldn't have such a hard time keeping her emotions under control, like she had managed to do so easily during her time on _Normandy_.

"Should we go look for her?" Tali asked quietly, voicing the question they had all been considering.

"Maybe Sid just needs some time alone," Garrus suggested.

It was true that Sid was used to dealing with things on her own so no one questioned this. They weren't worried that she would hurt herself or something like that. It was far more reasonable that she got herself into some kind of trouble and was only temporarily delayed. They all agreed that Sid would understand that they started without her and they toasted Shepard's memory, Navigator Pressly's sacrifice as well as those ten other servicemen. The Council hadn't even mentioned their names through the course of the funeral or even acknowledged that other people had died too. Once all the glasses were empty, Wrex ordered another round and they spent the time remembering everything Shepard had done for them. Most importantly, they thanked her for taking a chance on all of them.

"What do we do now?" Liara asked quietly when the silence stretched on.

No one answered immediately.

Wrex grunted in annoyance. "We go our separate ways."

"What?" Tali and Liara asked in surprise.

"Wrex is right," Garrus agreed. "The Humans won't want us around anymore and even if they did, would we follow another Commander?"

"No," Wrex practically growled but his anger wasn't directed at any of them.

They returned to silence as they considered their next move. Under Shepard's guidance, Garrus had changed. They all had. Perhaps it was time he returned to C-Sec. He didn't need to prove anything to anyone, not even his father. Not anymore, at least. C-Sec was familiar and it was something he was good at. There were also quite a few friends that he missed and would like to see again. Tali had made the decision to return to the Fleet. She had completed her Pilgrimage the moment Shepard handed her the data on the Geth but she chose to remain with them. She had grown up quite a bit. Wrex decided it was time he headed to Tuchanka, the Krogan homeworld and try to make something out of the Krogan, beyond mindless mercenaries. Liara had no idea what to do next but she promised she would find her way.

A few rounds of drinks later, they realised Sid wasn't coming. They finished their drinks and approached the bartender to pay for it.

"The tab's been closed," the bartender replied when he was asked for the bill.

"By who?" Garrus asked.

The bartender shrugged. "No clue. Anonymous. But she did ask me to pass along a message."

"She?" Tali repeated and they all realised Sid paid for drinks.

"What was the message?" Liara pressed.

"Goodbye."


	2. Phoenix

**Wow. I didn't expect this to have such a response. Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts. This is the first time I've ever done a sequel so hopefully I won't disappoint you.**

**On a semi related note, this past week I have had a lot of free time because university hasn't kicked into high gear yet so I managed to get the next two chapters done. Don't know if I'll be able to keep up the momentum but I figured after such a positive response, another chapter would be in order. Also, after the day I've had, I could use a bit of positivity so I hope you enjoy.**

**Updates for **_**Hope from the Darkness**_** are in the works but after the two latest reviews I received, I am revaluating the latest chapter to see if it really is becoming a "Tristan fic". I have no idea when the next update will be ready.**

**Finally, this chapter does jump forward in time quite a bit. The 2 years is standard in the game for how long Shepard was dead and being rebuilt. The 6 months involves training by Cerberus (it didn't make sense that Shepard would go straight into the thick of things with how the weapons have changed – for one – and considering she was on a table for a while) as well as the mission to Freedom's Progress, stopping by the Citadel and recruiting Kasumi, Zaeed, Garrus, Mordin and Grunt.**

**Also (this is an optional AN), I had originally intended this to take place on the colony of Ferris Fields but I changed it to New Canton. If I mistakenly used Ferris Fields anywhere, please let me know. I have gone through this a few times but I don't always pick up on mistakes, especially considering half the time I think I'm supposed to be using Ferris Fields anyway. Thanks in advance.**

**Chapter 2: Phoenix**

_2 years, 6 months later_

The _Normandy SR-2_ was quiet, not that the _SR-1_ was noisy per se…it was just different. The Marines on the _SR-1_ were always working or talking to each other. Engineer Adams was always tweaking something and asking Joker to test it. Navigator Pressly paced along the CIC, double checking everything and making sure Shepard didn't have to worry about the ship's performance or personnel issues. Joker and Sid were sitting in the cockpit, talking and laughing so much some of the other Marines would laugh at them. Wrex would pace along the Cargo Hold. The constant clicking of guns as Ash cleaned them and then reassembled them. Kaidan hanging around the control panel, trying to fix it.

Shepard sighed. There was nothing wrong with this crew – aside from the fact that they worked for Cerberus – but they still didn't feel like _her_ crew. She couldn't help wondering if everything she said was passed along to the Illusive Man, if her every move was being watched. It was ridiculous because the Illusive Man wouldn't risk doing anything to Shepard, not while the Collectors were still a threat, anyway. Even so, the lines between friend and foe were blurry and if Shepard was going to succeed in stopping the Collectors, she needed a crew she could trust. At least she had Dr Chakwas, Joker and Garrus to watch her back.

The whole situation was so surreal, it sounded impossible. Six months ago, Shepard woke up in some lab that was under attack only to learn that she had been dead for two years and Cerberus had…revived her. The Collectors had appeared through the Omega-4 Relay and were abducting entire human colonies. Hundreds of thousands of people were missing, presumed dead. Cerberus wanted to stop the Collectors because no one else was doing a thing about it. The Council sat back and did nothing however Councillor Anderson – the former Captain was now Humanity's first Councillor – had reinstated Shepard's Spectre status and due to her current status working with Cerberus, he couldn't tell her anything else.

Since waking up in that Cerberus lab, Shepard had been busy. She'd spent a few weeks in another lab, getting back into shape and familiarising herself with the recent changes around the galaxy, mostly focusing on her weapons that now required heat sinks for ammo. Once Miranda Lawson was satisfied that Shepard would be able to survive her mission, they went to investigate the colony of Freedom's Progress. It had been creepy, to put it simply, but she unexpectedly ran into Tali. There was no time for any whispered conversations but Tali looked good and believed that Shepard really was Shepard.

After learning that the Collectors were responsible, the Illusive Man ordered Shepard to build a team. He sent her some dossiers and Shepard decided to be the good little soldier for the time being and did as she was told. So far, they had recruited an experienced mercenary by the name of Zaeed Massani, an expert thief named Kasumi Goto, an eccentric Salarian professor named Mordin Solus, a psychotic biotic named Jack, a tank-bred Krogan who chose the name Grunt and a vigilante named Archangel who turned out to be Garrus. Shepard had never been so happy to see a Turian before in her entire life.

There was still one dossier that the Illusive Man had sent her that they hadn't managed to recruit just yet, mostly because Cerberus had been able to locate the person. Once the four new team members had settled in with Miranda and Jacob Taylor, the Illusive Man sent them to another colony called Horizon. They were able to stop the Collectors but not before they made off with half of the colony's population. Shepard also bumped into Kaidan which was a surprise. She had been so happy to see him and at first, he was too but then he became angry that "she faked her death" and was now "working for the enemy". Before Shepard could explain anything, he called her a traitor and walked off. Shepard was having a hard enough time keeping herself together. Now, the one man she loved hated her so completely. She was a mess…but she kept it to herself and focused on the mission at hand.

She hoped to recruit old members of her crew for some semblance of normalcy. Garrus was already here and Tali was in the next batch of dossiers. Cerberus wasn't all that interested in tracking down her former crew mates but Miranda had decided to humour her. Liara was currently on Illium and was now an information broker. For someone so passionate about archaeology, Shepard was surprised about the change in career. Wrex was reportedly on Tuchanka but no one gave her more information than that. Kaidan was obviously out of the question although Anderson's behaviour now made sense, and a few other questions were answered.

That just left Sid. She proving extremely difficult to track down, even for EDI – the _Normandy_'s AI (she wasn't supposed to but EDI decided to do it anyway). Shepard desperately wanted to find her little sister for a number of reasons: she had experience dealing with Cerberus and would know how to handle them; she could keep an eye on Kaidan and make sure Cerberus didn't try anything but most of all, Shepard could confide in her about anything. Shepard hadn't realised this until recently when she discovered just how much she missed Sid and her quirky sense of humour. It was weird that Joker had no idea where was though. At least there weren't any records of her death or arrest which was probably a good sign…although, there were rumours that Ghost had returned but those could just be imposters.

They were still dealing with the consequences of Horizon, so for the time being the _Normandy_ wasn't going anywhere. Professor Solus had collected a few more samples of those seeker swarm things so he could perfect his countermeasure. Miranda was reporting their findings as well as EDI's data on the Collector ship to the Illusive Man in a much longer report than Shepard's so the Cerberus researchers could continue looking for other ways to defeat the Collectors and go through the Omega-4 Relay. Once the Illusive Man was satisfied that they collected all possible information from Horizon, then Shepard would return to recruiting more people.

Shepard was sitting in the Mess Hall with a cup of coffee and a plate of food. Despite being a terrorist organisation, Cerberus had good coffee and decent food. She had the dossiers on a datapad in front of her and she was scanning through them just to make sure she was prepared for these four individuals, not that there was much information on them.

_Thane Krios:_

_Quick-kill Biotic Specialist_

_Expert sniper_

_Thane Krios is a Drell trained from childhood as an elite assassin, proficient in both long-range sniping kills and close infiltration. He has slowed his activities in recent years but is rumoured to have a target on Illium._

It didn't say much about Thane's personality so Shepard had no idea if he was the cold-blooded killer or rampaging murderer type. Yeoman Chambers would have that information though she wasn't sharing and Cerberus had so far been on the mark with these recruits. Jack hadn't been easy to convince, having been tortured as a child by Cerberus, but she was still dependable…to a degree. At least Garrus would have someone to compare sniping notes with and maybe they could visit Liara while on Illium.

_Justicar Samara:_

_Biotics strength near that of an asari matriarch_

_Extensive weapons training_

_Samara is a Justicar, a rare member of an asari monastic group trained in enhanced combat biotics alongside standard weapons. Samara was recently sighted on Illium, outside of normal Asari space._

Illium. At least that would make it easier to recruit two people on the same planet. Shepard wasn't really familiar with the Justicars but she understood "enhanced combat biotics" just fine. Her level of training could rub off on Jack though who was still a loose cannon.

_Tali'Zorah vas Neema:_

_Expert in combat tech, systems hacking_

_Strong engineering background, familiar with Normandy_

_Formerly listed as Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, the quarian engineer earned her adult name after helping Shepard defeat Saren two years ago. Tali is currently on a classified assignment for the Migrant Fleet Admiralty Board on Haestrom, deep in geth-controlled space._

Shepard allowed her thoughts to drift back to Freedom's Progress. A classified mission for the Admiralty Board was a huge responsibility but Tali was no longer the young quarian she had recruited on the Citadel. Tali had grown up a lot over the past two and a half years. Shepard hoped she would agree to help on this mission. Shepard sighed as she reached the last dossier, the one that bothered her the most.

_Phoenix:_

_Expert in close quarters combat_

_Specialises in infiltration and evasion_

_Phoenix surfaced just over two years ago and has quickly gained a reputation in the criminal underworld. Her real name is unknown as are her current whereabouts._

There was something about this person that was eerily familiar in that kind of deja-vu way. Regardless, they needed to find Phoenix first which was proving to be easier said than done. Apparently, Cerberus had been looking for her since Shepard woke up in the first lab and there hadn't even been any sign of Phoenix's ship, the _MSV Hermes_. Shepard sat in silence as she finished her food and her mug of coffee. A short while later, Garrus joined her with his own food and a fresh cup of coffee for Shepard. Garrus knew she was having trouble sleeping and adjusting to a few things so he never asked the question 'how are you?'. He had also matured over the past two years and Shepard found she could rely on him more now than she could when they first met.

"Anything interesting?" Garrus asked and nodded at the datapad in Shepard's hand.

She smiled in thanks and she took the coffee and then shrugged. "Not really. Got four more people the Illusive Man wants us to recruit, one of whom is Tali."

"So you managed to convince them then," Garrus remarked. "It'll be good to have her back again."

"Absolutely," Shepard agreed. "If only I could convince the Illusive Man to look for Sid."

Garrus frowned. "Still no word from her?"

Shepard shook her head slowly. "No and I don't even know how to contact her. The email accounts I had seem to be inactive." When Garrus didn't immediately reply, Shepard narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You know something."

"It might be nothing," he said. "But after your funeral, we headed to Chora's Den. Sid told us she would meet us there but she never showed. When we went to pay for our drinks, they were already paid for with the message 'goodbye'."

She let that sink in for a moment. It sounded quite…odd. "You think she's still alive?"

"I know she is," Garrus replied. "When I first arrived on Omega, I didn't know anyone. I had no clue who to talk to or who would even join up with me. Next thing I know, a technologically savvy Batarian makes straight for me and tells me a mutual friend said I could use his help."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "And you think that mutual friend was Sid?"

Garrus shrugged. "We know she spent a lot of time on Omega and you know how she is with Batarians. No one else would have done that for me."

Shepard smiled sadly. "Fair point. Maybe she's just lying low because of the Shadow Broker or something."

"Or she doesn't know you're alive," Garrus pointed out. "She might not want to believe the rumours."

"She took it bad then?" Shepard asked.

Garrus nodded slowly. "And, now that I think about it, she faced it alone." When he noticed Shepard's confusion, he decided to explain. "Afterwards, Kaidan was in such a mess that he wasn't in a state to help anyone and Joker blamed himself for your death so he pushed Sid away."

"It was like Mindoir for her all over again," Shepard realised quietly. "Losing everyone at once."

Before they could continue their conversation, Miranda approached. She looked calm but her gait said otherwise.

"Shepard, we managed to get a hit off the_ MSV Hermes_," Miranda explained.

Shepard was definitely interested. "Where?"

"New Canton," Miranda answered.

Garrus tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"It's a human colony," Shepard answered and then she frowned. "…that was recently abducted by the Collectors. Why would Phoenix go there?"

"I don't know," Miranda admitted. "Our files on Phoenix are limited, not that it bothers the Illusive Man. Chambers has nothing to work from."

"Are you done with your reports?" Shepard asked and when Miranda nodded, she continued. "Then we head for New Canton immediately."

There was no telling when they would next get an opportunity to reach Phoenix. If they missed her this time, they might not be a next time.

* * *

The colony of New Canton was, in a word, creepy. The buildings were completely undamaged: no smashed locks, no broken windows, no scuff marks on the floor and no signs that anyone had even fought back which was truly unnerving. Surely, if your entire colony came under attack, someone would try to defend themselves? Many areas were left completely undisturbed with personal effects lying where they were left or plates of food left untouched. The only indication that anyone came through was the fact that the Alliance and the Council had sent soldiers and scientists to find answers but when they found nothing, they returned to wherever they came from and…continued to do nothing. The Alliance was in denial: there was no sign of an attack hence there was no attack but they still couldn't explain the disappearances.

Sid didn't care much for politics but this made her job a bit easier. The Alliance was focused on the remaining colonies in the Terminus Systems that had not yet been attacked or they were currently investigating Horizon. It had been invaded not too long ago but something had interrupted the abductions so half of the colonists remained. This sparked a flurry of activity as every single person was interviewed and every single security camera was reviewed. No one cared about New Canton anymore. Those few survivors had left shortly before the invasion and therefore knew nothing about what happened but were unlikely to return anytime soon.

Aside from the creepiness factor, this worked in Sid's favour. No faking Alliance clearance, no answering questions. Easy access to the planet…although that meant others could get to the planet's surface just as easily as she. Of course, this was the entire reason she was on New Canton. A band of fairly violent mercenaries had somehow learnt that as Ghost, Sid hid a cache of powerful prototype weaponry on New Canton and were determined to get it. They had no idea of where to begin looking or how to bypass the security so they set an obvious trap to lure Sid to New Canton, thus getting the cache and a really big payday as the bounty on Sid's head had only increased since resurfacing as Ghost and her new alias, Phoenix.

Sid knew it was a trap from the moment she learnt of the mercenaries' behaviour but she decided to spring it anyway. It would let her move the cache and get rid of some annoying mercenaries at the same time. And if the Illusive Man was serious about getting her to work for the Lazarus Cell, this would be a good time for them to find her and she could get an idea of their field experience. There was nothing worse than working with amateur terrorists. Sid pushed that thought away as she continued to navigate her way through one of the housing districts of the colony. She was the bait while her crew got the cache before the mercenaries knew what happened.

She was dressed in her casual outfit: black leather pants, a dark grey tank top with a dark brown leather jacket, black fingerless gloves and knee-high leather boots. Her red hair was still the same length as it had been two years ago: just long enough to reach her elbow and it was tied back in a long braid down her back. When her fringe got too annoying, she had it cut in a straight line just above her eyebrows. She had also gained a lot of muscle as her life had become a bit more violent. Her decision to dress casually was to convince the mercenaries that she had no idea that they were there but she wasn't stupid. Her belt housed strong shield emitters and she also carried a single M-4 Shuriken submachine gun. A single combat knife was strapped around her left thigh – her default backup weapon.

As she passed through an abandoned bedroom of one of the houses, Sid sighed quietly. This was starting to get boring. "Anything interesting going on out there, Ricochet?"

"_Negative, Captain,"_ was the curt reply. Ricochet was still a military man, even if he wasn't with the military anymore.

"Fantastic," Sid murmured sarcastically. "For a group that came up with a fairly obvious trap, they sure are taking their time moving in."

"_And could they pick a creepier place?"_ Gambit's voice came over the radio. He was Sid's second-in-command and was currently overseeing the locating and moving of the weapons cache, alongside Wolf.

"I don't know," Sid replied as she skirted around a bed and started to break into the safe. "The silence makes a nice change."

"_I wouldn't know,"_ Wolf replied in his deep rumble.

Sid grinned as Gambit's squeak of wounded pride carried over the radios. Wolf had little patience for anyone but Sid yet he was slowly starting to make jokes and teasing the others. It happened so rarely and unexpectedly that it was funny every time. Gambit was usually his target, mostly because of their conflicting personalities. The safe opened and she found a few thermal clips which she quickly put into the pockets of her leather jacket and an M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol. It was a basic model with no upgrades. Still, it couldn't hurt to take it for this mission.

"Any signs of ships, Ace?" she asked as she checked the condition of the pistol.

"_Nothing yet,"_ Ace answered from the cockpit of the _Hermes_. _"Scanners haven't picked up anything…"_

He suddenly drifted off and Sid froze. "Ace?"

"_You better get ready, Sid. Looks like the party's about to start,"_ Ace responded. _"Got a few unknown ships landing on the surface."_

Angel suddenly cut in. _"According to _Hermes_, they match the class of ships of the mercenaries but we can't be sure from our position."_

The _Hermes_ had landed on the far side of the colony so the ship wouldn't be obvious but the remaining members of the crew would still be able to help while at a safe distance. Angel, Ace's emergency co-pilot, had dropped the four of them off in the shuttle before hiding nearby in case of an emergency extraction. Sid loaded a thermal clip into the heavy pistol and looked through the bedroom window. There was no immediate sign of the mercenaries' arrival but Sid had made sure they wouldn't miss her position. Rather than wait around and looking suspicious, Sid continued to walk through the house and enter the next one, making sure to lead the mercenaries in the complete opposite direction.

"_Incoming,"_ Ricochet suddenly said over the radio.

Sid stopped walking and looked through the window of the dining area of the house. She had a moment to take in a small group of mercenaries – human, asari and Turian – fully armoured and armed to the teeth. The first merc spotted her and opened fire at the window. Sid dropped down just in time and closed her eyes, facing the wall, as shards of glass rained down on her and large clouds of dust were disturbed by the flying bullets. When it died down a bit – presumably one or two needed to reload – Sid shuffled backwards so she was no longer under the window and started to carefully remove the shards of glass from her shoulders and hair. Moving was apparently a very good idea because when they were done reloading, they started to fire at the wall just below the window. Sunlight streamed through the multiple bullet holes that now decorated the house.

"_So, how you doing there, boss?"_ Gambit asked over the radio.

"Just peachy," Sid retorted. "They have excellent taste in redecorating. Can you and Wolf kindly get your asses in gear now?"

"_Already on it,"_ Wolf replied. He knew the sarcasm wasn't directed at him so he wasn't short with her. _"Should be done in a few minutes."_

Sid stifled a cough and then answered. "Just watch your backs. I don't know how many mercs came but I don't think they're all here."

Silence returned a moment or two later as the mercs guessed they had killed their target because there was no movement inside the house. Sid reached into her bag of tricks and pulled out a smoke grenade. She leant towards the window and threw it out so it landed at the mercs' feet. Before they could react, the grenade exploded and enveloped them in a light cloud of smoke. While the smoke served the purpose of affecting visibility, there was also a strong smelling chemical that made it hard to breathe. Sid had other smoke grenades that created dense clouds of black smoke but those would be used later. Without another word, Ricochet fired his silenced sniper rifle from his hidden perch and Sid started to fire the borrowed heavy pistol. The first group of mercs were dead within minutes.

Sid discarded the heavy pistol and drew her submachine gun. No one responded to the gunshots immediately. The other mercs were probably trying to make radio contact and would figure out that their comrades were dead in a few moments. Sid activated her tactical cloak and went to find a more defensible position nearby. One of the houses had a sturdy looking porch which was lined with a thick brick wall which was low enough to provide just the right amount of cover. Sid made a mental note of its location and headed over to the dead mercs. She could tell immediately which ones Ricochet had killed because they were all headshots. Some of her shots had gone wide but she blamed the older model heavy pistol.

While there she still some time, Sid quickly scavenged a radio from a dead merc and then recovered the shell of the smoke grenade so the other mercs wouldn't know what hit them. She took out a small but deadly proximity mine, courtesy of Chef, and buried it a few steps ahead of the dead mercs. Once she was sure it was active, she headed towards the porch and pressed her back against the brick wall. The proximity mine was perhaps a bit cruel but these mercs didn't plan on playing fair. Why should she? She deactivated the tactical cloak and got to work patching in the mercs' radio frequency. Rather than have it globally for them, she patched it directly into the shuttle so Angel could monitor it and warn them of anything.

"Angel, you should be patched into the mercs' channel now," Sid said and then tossed the radio.

"_I'm getting it loud and clear. They've realised their comrades are dead and are sending some to investigate,"_ Angel replied slowly as her attention was divided between listening and relaying.

"Some?" Sid and Wolf repeated in unison.

"_Yes,"_ Angel confirmed. _"The others…are heading for Gambit and Wolf."_

Sid was quiet for a long moment. "This can't be a coincidence. If they know where you are then they originally knew where the cache was hidden."

"_Orders?"_ Ricochet requested.

"You and I will attempt to thin out the mercs, buy Gambit and Wolf some time," Sid ordered. "Wolf, you're on babysitting duty."

Gambit groaned. _"Do you have to word it like that?"_

Sid smiled and lowered her voice as more mercs approached. "He whined."

Gambit didn't immediately respond. _"Touché."_

Sid flattened herself against the brick wall and tightened her grip on her Shuriken as the mercs drew closer. Their heavy armour made the slightest noise as they walked which was how Sid knew where they were and as soon as they activated the mine, she and Ricochet would open fire and kill anyone there. Once this group was dead, they would push forward and kill those mercs between them and Gambit and Wolf. This was generally the plan when they got separated by people out to kill them so unless someone had a better suggestion, they all knew it would go like this. Sid tensed as she prepared for the mine exploding but something was off…

"_Cap, another ship just entered the system,"_ Ace informed them all.

Sid was confused into silence. "Merc?" she whispered.

"_Nope,"_ Ace answered. _"Looks to be…Cerberus?"_

"_Does Cerberus have plans to kill us too?"_ Gambit enquired casually.

"Doubtful," Sid answered. "What's it doing?"

"_The ship's hovering above the planet and deploying a shuttle,"_ Ace explained. _"Based on its trajectory, it's landing close to your position, Cap."_

"Huh," she remarked quietly. "The Illusive Man wasn't kidding."

"_What was that?"_ Gambit asked.

"Never mind. Survive the mercs now. Worry about Cerberus later," she ordered and then peeked over her cover.

The mercs were just short of the proximity mine as they argued with each other over the radios. Sid didn't need Angel to relay that the sudden appearance of another ship threw a wrench in the works. The mercs needed to rethink their plan which apparently wasn't going well. The shuttle started to descend nearby and the Cerberus colours and insignia were obvious. The mercs had also noticed because the asari and Turian members suddenly got fidgety. One Turian backed away angrily and accidently activated the proximity mine. The explosion that followed was much more powerful than anyone expected, Sid included. Chef certainly had a way with explosives.

She stared in amazement at the aftermath of that one small bomb. A large dust cloud had enveloped the mercs so it was hard to tell how many had been killed but she guessed at least half. The others were disorientated from the noise and were yelling at each other, trying to figure out what had just happened. Ricochet was also holding off because they had no idea what was going to happen with the Cerberus shuttle or its occupants. Sure enough, three people emerged from the direction of the shuttle and immediately opened fire on the mercs. There were even some biotics involved. Sid ignored the mercs and tried to make out the three newcomers.

The source of the biotics was easy. A tall woman with a slender frame and shoulder length black hair glowed with a faint blue energy that reminded Sid of seeing Kaidan in battle. She was wearing a black and white…one piece outfit. How else would she describe such an outfit? A onesie or maybe a catsuit? What really confused Sid about the outfit though was the pair of heeled boots. Who went into battle wearing heeled boots? Sid ignored the woman's questionable fashion sense and moved on to…Garrus? Sid nearly fell over. Cerberus rarely worked with any alien species and last she heard, Garrus was on Omega as Archangel. There was definitely a story there.

Sid then looked at the third person and she did actually fall over this time but before she crashed into the concrete fall, she grabbed onto the brick wall and tried to get a better look. This wasn't possible…was it? Commander Jocelyn Shepard was standing in the middle of the woman and Garrus wearing her heavy, black N7 armour without a helmet. Her black hair was shorter, closer to her jawline than her shoulders, and her build appeared thinner yet still muscular. Sid could also make out various scars across her face but they were faint and only visible because Sid was really looking. Sid really wanted to slap herself in the face – only because no one was around to do it for her – because she wanted to be sure she wasn't dreaming. Jo was dead but her she was, all evidence to the contrary. And working for Cerberus. Sid didn't have time to deal with her emotions so she watched carefully.

"Do you still have a fix on Phoenix's position?" Jo asked the other woman as soon as the mercs were dead.

The woman brought up her omni-tool. "According to EDI's scans, Phoenix should be close by."

Sid was about to make a dramatic entrance to find out if this really was Jo or just some lookalike clone who had no memories of her sister. There was something about the way Jo walked and carried herself that led Sid to believe that this really was Jo, miraculously back from the dead but that could have just been wishful thinking. Sid needed more confirmation than this.

"Any idea who we're looking for?" Garrus asked as he checked his sniper rifle.

"Does it matter?" a merc suddenly asked and Sid recognised that voice. _Of course_ it was Sahahla. "You're never going to find her."

Sid stood up from her cover, having replayed this moment in her mind a million times, waiting for a faceoff against Sahahla. "Wanna bet?"

The Asari was wearing heavy dark blue armour that highlighted her curves and complimented the shade of blue of her skin. She was thin – not that Sid had ever seen a fat Asari – but her appearance was made to mislead. She looked frail and defenceless when she was actually a powerful biotic and could kill Sid in a hundred different ways. There was a moment of silence as everyone looked around in confusion. Sahahla hadn't expected Sid's sudden appearance and she had no idea the role that Cerberus was playing here. Jo and Garrus were taken completely by surprise as neither of them knew Sid was Phoenix. They probably assumed she was still only known as Ghost. The Cerberus lady…Sid suddenly realised she was the Illusive Man's confidant, Operative Lawson. Regardless of her role, she was also quite surprised.

The mercs behind Sahahla looked around nervously waiting for an order. Sid really couldn't focus on Jo's recovery or any possible explanations at the moment or wondering why Garrus was with a pro-Human organisation that usually didn't tolerate aliens. Her only concern now was Sahahla, who could use her biotics at any moment. She had been a member of Sid's original crew and as it turned out, she had planted the seeds of mutiny in the others' minds long before the incident with the slavers. Since then, she had been out on a mission to kill Sid, just like back on the Citadel three years ago when Sid had a meeting with Ace. She had no idea what she'd done to make Sahahla want to kill her so bad and she wasn't going to ask. All she could do was come up with a plan that hopefully wouldn't get her killed.


	3. Faceoff

**Just a quick side note about Sid's crew: I do have the appearances and backgrounds sorted for about 80% of them. They most likely won't play a crucial role this early in the story but will pop up later – probably on Sid's "loyalty mission" (as soon as I figure that out) and also towards the end of the story. They'll play a bigger role in **_**ME3**_**, however.**

**The beginning of this chapter is also a tribute to the movie **_**The Losers**_**. If you've never seen it, I fully recommend it.**

**Finally, thank you for all of the reviews, favourites and alerts. I really appreciate hearing feedback.**

**Chapter 3: Faceoff**

Sid continued to stare down Sahahla as wild and crazy ideas started to form in her mind. They ranged from small chance of success all the way to 'may require a miracle to pull off' chance of success. Yet Sid couldn't afford to back down. Not now, while Wolf and Gambit were most likely in trouble. Not while she was within Cerberus' grasp and under the gaze of Jo – or pseudo Jo or whatever. Sometimes, springing a trap wasn't always a good idea. At least Sid still had her reputation of being a bag of kittens crazy in the galaxy going for her. An idea suddenly struck her and she fought hard to keep from smiling. She knew Ricochet would go along with whatever plan she thought up and as he was still unknown at the moment, this was invaluable.

"Tread carefully, Sahahla," Sid warned in a tone that was both friendly yet threatening. "I can kill you with my mind."

Sahahla barked out harsh laughter. "You're no biotic, Ghost."

"Who needs biotics when you can do what I do?" Sid asked and smiled serenely.

She risked a glance towards Operative Lawson, Jo and Garrus and came close to bursting out laughing which would defeat the purpose of appearing convincing. Their confusion was so obvious and so amusing. If they had no idea where this was going, Sahahla would be just as clueless. Sid refocused her attention on Sahahla and raised both of her hands to shoulder height. Then she closed her bottom three fingers into a fist so her index finger and thumb were pointing straight so her hands mirrored guns. Then she casually pointed her right and left index fingers at one merc each. She glanced between her targets and noticed they were shifting uncomfortably, trying to get behind Sahahla without drawing her attention. At least they believed this was possible.

"This is your last chance to clear out, Sahahla," Sid commented.

"_Left,"_ Ricochet murmured quietly over the radio. So he caught on to the crazy scheme after all.

Sahahla laughed again. "You don't frighten me, human."

Sid pouted for a moment and then 'fired' her left hand at the merc. The merc fell to the ground with a gunshot to the chest. Sid immediately did it to the merc on the right and there were now two dead mercs on the floor and no one had any explanation. Sahahla's mercs backed away quickly and the asari stared wordlessly at her two dead men. Sid brought her right hand to her mouth and blew her finger as though it was a smoking gun. At this point, she glanced at Jo again and winked. Jo gave her a baffled expression which asked 'how did you pull that off?'.

Sahahla's head suddenly snapped up from the dead to Sid and her eyes narrowed angrily. "You have a sniper hiding somewhere."

Sid shrugged and grinned like a child. "But I had you going for a minute there, didn't I?" Then she took a subtle step backwards and clasped her hands behind her back, nowhere near her submachine gun. "But, I have places to go. People to steal from. Pirates to annoy. You know the deal."

"Oh, I do," the asari replied in a friendly tone. "So, hand over the weapons and you can be on your way."

Sid smiled and slowly moved her hand towards her pouch. "Oh, Sahahla. We all know that's not going to happen."

Sahahla smiled and started to glow blue. One thing about biotics: they always had an early warning system. Sid suddenly kicked Sahahla's arm so her biotic attack went wide, dissipating against one of the houses and Ricochet fired a bullet, killing one of the mercs that prepared to move against Sid. Sid didn't even acknowledge this and followed through with a rear round kick to Sahahla's face, sending her to the floor. Sid spun around and drew her submachine gun, opening fire on the remaining mercs. She had expected Sahahla to make her move but she didn't expect Operative Lawson to fling her across the open space into the wall of a house. Sid had no idea whether Sahahla was still alive or not because she now had bigger concerns, what with the asari out of the picture.

"Gambit? Wolf?" Sid said over the radio but there was no response. She could make out the distant sound of gunfire though. "Ric?"

"_Moving,"_ he replied and Sid required no elaboration.

She turned to face Operative Lawson, Jo and Garrus. "If Cerberus is really intent on recruiting me, try to keep up."

Without another word, she started to run through the settlement with her submachine gun in hand. She didn't expect this plan to be executed flawlessly but she had hoped Wolf and Gambit would at least stay in radio contact. Ace had briefly murmured that their positions were unchanged however he couldn't reach them either. Angel started to prepare the shuttle, just in case. Sid retraced her route which involved running through abandoned houses in an effort to get to a farm on the outskirts of the colony as quickly as possible. She knew Ricochet would find his own way without revealing his presence to everyone else. The others were attempting to keep up.

_::Radio signal has been patched in, Shepard.::_

Sid nearly ran into a wall when the female synthetic voice filled her ears. Some warning would have been nice or even a friendly request however her annoyance was overridden by curiosity. Not many hackers or computer experts could effortlessly tap into Sid's radio frequency, not without raising some warning bells. Whoever Cerberus had on hacking duty was good.

"_What exactly is the plan here?"_ Operative Lawson enquired curtly.

Sid smiled. "What makes you think I have a plan?"

She heard Garrus chuckle in amusement a few paces behind her. Cerberus was all about their plans and making sure every possible outcome was predicted as well as the probability of success. The lack of a plan was probably frustrating to Operative Lawson especially with her high standards of perfection. This was going to be fun. When the Illusive Man had originally contacted Sid about hiring her for some suicide mission with his Lazarus Cell, he had mentioned a few things about the head of said cell but the basic information hadn't been enough to prepare Sid for coming face to face with her.

"_One would expect a degree of professionalism from someone with your reputation,"_ Lawson replied in the same tone.

Sid raised an eyebrow but did not slow down. She was about to retort with something that pointed out how obviously surprised Lawson was by Sid's appearance. There were a great many things that Cerberus prided itself on and information was one of them. Before she could put this into a satisfactory insult, her shields suddenly absorbed a gunshot that came through a broken window. Sid skidded to a stop and returned fire. The farm she had been running towards was diagonally to her left and Wolf was firing his assault rifle through the open door. More mercs had settled themselves in the nearby houses and anything that would provide cover from Wolf's assault.

Wolf was a tall, muscular man with dark green eyes and scruffy dirty blonde hair. He fit the description of the usual cliché of mercenaries and his appearance was very intimidating, especially as he was covered from head to toe in his heavy armour. The visor of his helmet was tinted glass so it was impossible to get a read on his facial expressions. He was also armed to the teeth with his trusty assault rifle, a shotgun, submachine gun and a heavy pistol. Sid preferred to handle her meetings on her own but Wolf always insisted on coming with her as a sort of bodyguard and he rarely took nonsense or orders from the others. Sid typically recruited people with the same sense of humour as she had but Wolf was an exception, one she was glad she'd made.

While Lawson, Jo and Garrus started to fire their own weapons, Sid was able to get Wolf's attention and they started to communicate with hand signals. He and Gambit were both fine and uninjured. Gambit was currently working through the security precautions around the cache, as per Sid's instructions. One of the mercs had a signal jammer which was blocking their radio signals. At least that explained why no one was saying anything over the radio. Sid nodded her head in confirmation and then relayed that she was going after the jammer. Wolf replied by continuing to fire his rifle. Sid leant against the wall and brought up her omni-tool.

The screen was a bit distorted which was normal, considering their proximity to the jammer. There wasn't time to waste by attempting to compensate for the jammer so Sid squinted at the screen as her omni-tool was able to pinpoint a basic location. It was hardly accurate but that wouldn't matter with a Chef's special. Sid reached into her pouch and pulled out a small bomb: it was rectangular in size and a few inches thick. It wasn't bigger than a chocolate bar but it was heavy. A small digital display was attached on the top of the device and Sid pushed a few buttons to set the countdown to 45 seconds. That should be enough time to get a safe distance away while not taking too long.

Sid glanced up to gain her bearings and found Jo was giving her a quizzical look. Before, Sid didn't exactly enjoy killing people, let alone blowing quite a few to smithereens but she only shrugged in response. In the two and a half years that had passed, Sid had a lot of growing up to do and she had to revaluate many things in her life – her aversion to violence was one of these things. In the course of their mission to defeat Saren, Sid learnt a hard truth: sometimes violence was necessary. These mercs wouldn't stop until they were all dead or they got what they wanted. Sid didn't fancy the latter happening so she had to go with the former.

Sid glanced through the doorway again and signalled to Wolf that she had a plan. He nodded his head once and responded by throwing a smoke grenade into the open area ahead of him. The mercs were either surrounded in a huge black cloud of smoke or had their vision obscured. Sid immediately activated her tactical cloak and ran into the confusion. Once or twice, a nearby merc that was in her way would be taken down so she presumed Ricochet had found a new perch nearby and was using his thermal scope. Sid found the merc carrying the jammer and as he flailed around in the smoke, Sid knelt beside him and activated the countdown silently. Then she slipped it into his pocket and ran like hell. Ricochet continued to shoot any merc that blocked her path and pretty soon, she was back where she started.

A few seconds later, the bomb exploded and static came over the radios as the jammer was destroyed. Full communications were restored immediately after and Sid glanced towards Operative Lawson. The Cerberus operative looked torn between being impressed by how the situation was progressing and irritation at the lack of communication with them as well as planning. Sid was amused by her hesitation to adapting to a situation like this. When Sid had accepted jobs from Cerberus in the past, there were never any babysitters involved which made Sid curious about the people who worked for a terrorist organisation. Lawson was not disappointing her.

Following the explosion, the mercs seemed to realise that they were going to lose and those few that were still alive started to back away, attempting a tactical retreat. Ricochet and Wolf continued to fire their weapons and killing any stragglers. Lawson, Jo and Garrus were also still firing. Sid estimated that less than a handful would make it off the planet. That was fine by her. She dusted off her pants as she calmly made her way inside the farmhouse and found Gambit kneeling next to the floor safe with a look of intent concentration on his face. His medium armour was covered in a light layer of dust and his messy black hair was sticking up at all angles. He had placed his heavy pistol beside the safe in case he needed to grab it quickly but his shotgun remained attached to his lower back.

"You sure took your time getting here," Gambit said conversationally as he put in the last few digits.

Sid smiled. "And you're taking your sweet time getting into the safe."

"It's hard to concentrate when you have RoboCop shooting behind you," Gambit snapped back but his tone was light.

Wolf approached with heavy footsteps and grunted irritably. "Somehow I think keeping you alive was a bad idea."

Sid laughed and made her way towards the door where Jo, Lawson and Garrus were waiting awkwardly. She made no move to approach them. Instead, she looked up as Ricochet appeared through another house with his sniper rifle held casually in his left hand. His dark grey heavy armour had a few dirty spots from where he had been kneeling and his blue eyes took in the three strangers within a few seconds. He never wore a helmet because it made sniping a bit more difficult. His black hair still resembled the standard military cut but it was slowly growing longer. He was also well built but of the two, Wolf had more muscle. Without a word, Ricochet headed into the farmhouse to help carry the cache.

The weapons were secured in a large metallic footlocker. They were prototype assault rifles that were still in the early days of testing as an independent corporation was attempting to create light weight weapons that were still capable of causing a lot of damage while being mindful of heat sinks. Due to red tape, the development of these weapons had been cut short and the researchers asked Sid to hide the prototypes until the red tape could be sorted out. Sid had obliged – for credits, of course – and a few contacts who owed her a favour on New Canton had agreed to keep them safe. No one could have foreseen the sudden disappearance of the colonists however it did make the removal of the cache that much easier.

Sid placed a finger to her radio. "Bring her in, Ace. You too, Angel. Area's secure."

"_You got it, Cap,"_ Ace replied.

"_I'll rendezvous with _Hermes," Angel confirmed over the radio.

With the logistics of the situation dealt with, Sid chose that moment to focus on Cerberus. She was still not certain that Jo really was Jo because, well, she died. She didn't want to hope that Cerberus had pulled off some miracle. Even if it was possible, Jo's body had been lost to space. They had no remains to work from, unless this was a clone or VI or AI or whatever Cerberus was up to lately. Yet, Garrus was following her and there were a few things about her that matched up to Sid's memories: the way Jo held her head, the military posture, the slight glint of determination in her eyes…not to mention Jo obviously recognised her but memories could be implanted. And Jo hadn't yet acknowledged anything about Sid, not out loud so she obviously didn't trust Lawson or Cerberus. Even Garrus hadn't mentioned anything about knowing her. So, the plot thickens.

"So, the Illusive Man was serious about this mystery mission, huh?" Sid asked and tore her gaze from Jo, focusing on Lawson.

"You spoke to the Illusive Man?" Lawson asked and was there a note of annoyance? "He recruited you personally?"

Sid shrugged dismissively. "I am one of his best freelance contractors, after all."

Lawson suddenly gave her an incredulous look. "You're Ghost?"

Sid raised an eyebrow. "Wow. I didn't really the boss man was leaving you in the dark this much."

Just as Lawson was about to retort, Jo stepped in. "Sidebar?" she suggested hopefully.

"I don't think so," Wolf suddenly answered from behind Sid, causing her to jump. How long had he been standing there for?

"Relax, big guy," Sid replied lightly. "What's the worst that could happen?"

There was a long list of things that could happen and had happened in the past and they all knew it.

He shifted his stance a bit to appear more intimidating. "How can we be sure they aren't working with the Broker?"

Wolf had originally been one of the Shadow Broker's best mercenaries so he knew that Cerberus had dealt with the Broker for a short time however not all alliances are built to last. Cerberus only used the Broker until they were in a position to overpower the Broker. The Broker responded violently and they soon realised that they each had the resources to destroy the other. Rather than an actual alliance, they had decided to avoid attacking each other unless seriously provoked. While unlikely, it was still possible that the Broker and Cerberus would work together. And then Sid realised that this would never happen, not now.

Just over two years ago, Liara had decided to get herself involved in the information business. Sid had agreed to help get her started by putting her in touch with a few people but after that, Liara was on her own. In the weeks that followed, Liara had gotten word to Sid asking for help of a different sort. Cerberus had hired her to recover…Jo's remains. Even though Sid didn't believe it was possible, she agreed to help Liara, if only to get back at the Shadow Broker who was also looking for Jo's remains. Sid didn't care to learn the details because she wanted nothing to do with a mission involving Jo's remains but she did set up an ambush for the Broker's forces that were tailing Liara. It bought Liara enough time to put a lot of distance between her and the Broker. Sid never did find out if she was successful…until now.

Sid sighed heavily as most of the pieces fell into place. "Alchera." It was the planet where the _Normandy_ crashed and where Sid and her crew started to harry the Broker's forces.

A flash of recognition passed over Jo's face but there was still a lot of confusion. So, she hadn't spoken with Liara yet. This was something Liara needed to explain in person. The explanation was enough for Wolf. Even though he didn't leave, he did back down however his gaze was fixed on Lawson and Garrus. Sid nodded to Jo and then to another nearby house – one that didn't survive the mercs unscathed. Once they were a safe distance away, Sid brought up her omni-tool and activated her own jammer to make sure no one could eavesdrop on this conversation, not even her own crew. They would understand. Jo sighed in relief and her posture relaxed.

"Jo?" Sid asked tentatively, still not entirely believing this.

"It's me, Sid. It's really me," Jo replied and there was a hint of disbelief, like she barely believed it herself.

Sid didn't reply immediately, trying to think how to phrase the question that was really bugging her. "What…?"

"What happened?" Jo finished for her. "Cerberus rebuilt me and revived me. I don't even understand most of it, never mind believe it."

Sid searcher her sister's face for a few moments and she knew, without a doubt, that this was Jo. She couldn't explain how or why, just that she knew it. As relieved as she was to know her sister was alive, they had business to do and appearances to keep up. "So…Cerberus, huh?"

Jo was momentarily taken aback by how well Sid was taking it and then she shrugged. "I don't have a whole lot of options left open to me, considering the whole galaxy either thinks I'm dead or a traitor. Not to mention, no one's actually doing anything to stop the Collectors aside from Cerberus."

"Collectors?" Sid repeated and then looked around the settlement. It explained why no one else was taking the credit for such an attack or why there were no signs that anything had happened here.

Jo looked almost amused. "You didn't know they were behind this?"

"To be fair, I always thought they were the space version of the bogeyman," Sid answered. "I didn't think they existed."

"Did you have a better explanation for this?" Jo teased.

"I didn't really think about it," she admitted. "At least it explains why the Illusive Man tried really hard to recruit me."

Jo looked at her in confusion. "You didn't agree to this?"

"Well, he approached me for some suicide mission and offered to double my usual rate – which is a lot of credits – a couple weeks back but I told him paying me in credits was pointless if I wasn't around to spend them," Sid recalled. "He responded by telling me to keep the credits and he would have an incentive to join the mission." She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "I guess you're my incentive. He knew I wouldn't say no to you."

"He knows we're sisters?" Jo asked and paled slightly. The last thing either of them needed was for the Illusive Man to use their relation against them.

"That's anyone's guess," Sid answered. "He does know that I helped you on your mission against Saren and that I was also loyal to you."

"If he knows we're related and that you're Ghost, why wasn't there more information about you on the dossier? And why wouldn't Miranda know?" Jo asked.

Sid actually smiled. "He knows I like my privacy and he doesn't want to give me a reason to go after him or Cerberus. I could do a lot of damage before they could stop me."

"I imagine so," Jo replied and then glanced at Operative Lawson.

"How do you want to play this?" Sid asked seriously. If they were going to be convincing with whatever story they decided to tell, they needed to be on the same page.

"This you officially agreeing to join the mission?" Jo asked and when Sid nodded, she continued. "The majority of the crew is Cerberus and despite everything, I still don't trust them. Let's keep our relation out of it, just to be safe. I don't want to give Cerberus anything else to use against me."

Sid nodded her head slowly. "I was arrested which provided a unique opportunity for both of us which is why you recruited me to help hunt down Saren. We became friends along the mission, just like Garrus, Wrex or Tali. Sound good?"

"I think I can remember that," Jo replied.

"Great," Sid replied and stopped her jamming. "I just need to sort out my crew and grab a few things from my ship and I'll be good to go."

* * *

Words could not describe how relieved Shepard felt, knowing Sid would have her back and had agreed to join the mission. She was still surprised by how much she had missed her sister over the past few months but she knew that Sid could help her navigate Cerberus as well as anyone else they may cross paths with. Because this was not an Alliance mission, there was all manner of shady characters involved and Sid would be a big help. It was also reassuring to have someone else who she knew she could trust without a doubt. It was strange to see Sid with such disregard for life though, especially after how she handled killing those husks on her original ship but they had all changed in some way. Shepard had to keep reminding herself that it had been over two years and not just a few months.

As they made their way towards the conference room, Sid took in the new _Normandy_ in silence. She never let any emotion show on her face, as though she got tours on extremely advanced ships on a daily basis. Perhaps she was just being overcautious as Cerberus watched everyone's every move. Or perhaps she was preparing herself for her inevitable reunion with Joker. When Shepard had casually mentioned Joker was their pilot, Sid had completely frozen for a few moments and even went pale. After that, she got very quiet. Garrus hadn't been exaggerating on that point and Sid looked terrified by the possibility of being stuck on the same ship as her…ex-boyfriend? Shepard had no idea how to label their relationship.

The conference room was silent as Shepard and Sid entered with Miranda right behind them. Miranda didn't trust Sid for whatever reason. Perhaps she was jealous that Sid had been personally recruited by the Illusive Man and he had made the decision to keep her in the dark. Jacob entered a moment after them and he was holding a datapad. Judging from his frown and the way he handled the previous recruits, Shepard guessed he was looking up Ghost's activities and skills over the past few years, trying to sort the real Ghost from the imposters. She made a mental note to ask Sid about the whole Phoenix gig. Miranda took up position near the door and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Jacob came to a stop on the end of the table closest to the door. Shepard stood at the opposite end and Sid was to her right, watching Jacob expectantly.

"That's quite the array of…skills you have, Ghost," Jacob remarked and he finally looked up from the datapad. He obviously was a bit unsettled to be working with someone with quite the record.

Sid smiled. "Since you have access to my record, does that mean I get access to Cerberus personnel records?" Shepard fought hard to keep her expression under control. The request blindsided both Miranda and Jacob. Neither of them knew how to react or if she was being serious. Before they could answer, Sid waved them off with a dismissive hand. "Never mind. I was only asking to be polite anyway."

Shepard had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Jacob tried to figure out if that meant Sid would help herself to the personnel records while Miranda tried to judge how serious the threat was. Coming from Sid, it was hard to tell. After a few moments of awkward silence, Miranda cleared her throat.

"Why did the Illusive Man keep your identity as Ghost secret?"

"Insurance," Sid answered simply. When everyone continued to look at her blankly, she rolled her eyes impatiently. "A lot of people want Ghost, dead or alive, because of the huge bounty. Apparently, my imposters did irreparable harm to my reputation. And if he saw fit to keep it quiet, it is possible someone on this ship may be tempted to collect or we may cross paths with someone considering we are in the Terminus Systems." She shrugged. "Who am I to guess at the Illusive Man's motives?" Another jab at Miranda. Sid was definitely testing the waters and pushing Miranda's buttons.

Jacob eyed the pair for a few moments before speaking. "We just have to sort out your lodgings. Do you have any preferences?"

"She'll stay with me in the loft," Shepard suddenly blurted out. "We discussed it already."

Sid, for her part, remained composed and didn't buckle under Miranda's penetrating stare. "Given our history hunting Saren, we believe it would be best so there's still space for your future recruits."

Shepard was surprised by how quickly Sid had been able to judge the situation and provide a plausible excuse. The truth was, Shepard just didn't want to be alone in her quarters anymore and there were few people she could consider sharing quarters with. Between the nightmares and everything else, she was getting little sleep. She hoped that Sid's presence might help. Miranda and Jacob did not question this decision although Miranda looked a bit suspicious.

"What will your crew be doing in the meantime?" Miranda asked.

Sid shrugged. "We have a list of jobs to complete and they can do those without me. They'll also keep supplies and act as reinforcements, if necessary."

"Your crew is willing to do that?" Shepard asked, a bit surprised.

The impression that Sid gave of her crew of _The Machine_ had been strictly business and that she didn't entirely trust them yet the crew of the _Hermes_ was completely different. With their brief time together, it appeared that the crew and Sid were close and one member even went so far as to protect her without a doubt. Sid obviously trusted them otherwise she wouldn't leave them to their own devices. Since Sid rarely left anything forgotten, Shepard couldn't understand why Sid trusted them so much when her last crew mutinied against her.

Sid smiled in slight amusement. "As hard as it is to believe, they actually like me as their captain so anything they can do that will guarantee my safe return, they'll do it. However, if we need them as reinforcements, they'll need to know ahead of schedule otherwise they won't reach us in time."

"Fair enough," Shepard agreed. "Would you like the grand tour? I think Garrus and Dr Chakwas will be excited to see you again."

"Doc is here?" Sid asked incredulously and then whistled appreciatively. "You sure know how to pick 'em."

"When you're done with the tour, stop by the armoury so we can compare weapons and get you outfitted," Jacob suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, Mr Taylor," Sid replied and a smile slowly formed as they all realised no one had actually introduced Jacob to her.

Shepard shook her head in amusement as she led Sid through the ship. As much as she disliked Miranda, she almost pitied her. Sid seemed to have selected Miranda as a target for her odd amusement. As they walked, Shepard pointed out the important places and introduced her to pretty much everyone. To play it safe, Sid was only introduced as Phoenix or Ghost, never by her real name. Word started to spread quickly that they had the notorious Ghost on the crew and a few people would stare at Sid as they passed, some in awe and some in fear. They reached the Mess Hall, which was pretty crowded at this time of day, and Shepard introduced Sid to Jack, Mordin and Grunt. Kasumi was nowhere to be seen – which was pretty normal for the thief – and Zaeed rarely left his quarters which was best for the whole crew.

Jack was sizing Sid up, trying to judge just how much of a threat she could be. "You don't look like you've ever spent a day in jail." The sneer was meant to both antagonise and intimidate Sid. Under any other circumstances, Shepard would have intervened but if they were going to survive Cerberus, Sid needed to stand up for herself. She didn't disappoint.

Sid smiled pleasantly. "That's because I don't let people catch me."

Jack didn't approve of the implications and she glared at Sid. Before anyone could react, the sound of a gun clicking sounded in the quiet Mess Hall. Sid spun around on the spot and had her submachine gun at the ready a moment later. Shepard didn't understand what was going on until she saw Zaeed in full heavy armour standing opposite them with his assault rifle fixed on Sid. Cerberus really needed to rethink the idea of letting him keep his weapons with him. The entire Mess Hall went dead quiet as they all watched the scene unfold. Instinctively, Shepard reached for her pistol before realising all of her armour and weapons had already been put away. The only reason why Sid was still armed was because Jacob was making room for her weapons.

Miranda came running out of her office, Garrus hurried out of the battery, Jacob was marching out of the elevator and Dr Chakwas was standing in the Medical Lab, attempting to get a better view. Despite the presence of biotics, no one could do anything. Zaeed was a loose cannon, everyone knew that but could Sid be the one to put him in his place? And if anyone intervened now, Sid would soon have a target on her back. They could only watch helplessly and hope they didn't tear the ship apart. Sid looked more bored than worried while Zaeed was practically fuming in anger. Shepard was quite intrigued to find out what Sid had done to make Zaeed so furious.

"You must be the goddamned Ghost," Zaeed growled.

Sid didn't reply and gave him a quick once over, probably trying to figure out how she knew him. "You're Massani." Judging by her tone, Sid was just as clueless as everyone else about why he was so angry.

Zaeed must have picked up on this too. "You helped Vido."

Sid frowned. "Vido?" She repeated the name a few times in a whisper and then she suddenly realised who he was talking about and laughed, much to everyone's surprise. "You really think I would help that no good, back stabbing son of a Vorcha?" She laughed again. "That bullet really must have scrambled something loose."

Zaeed tightened the hold on his assault rifle. "You're telling me you didn't take a job moving high explosives for him?"

"Of course I took the job," Sid answered dismissively. "I take jobs from anyone with credits. When he refused to pay me and decided to try to kill me, I destroyed the explosives and killed half his men. Does that sound like helping to you?" Before he could actually answer, Sid holstered her gun and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But if you really want to kill the only person who could actually find him, go right ahead."

Shepard really didn't think saying that was a smart idea and was about to intervene when Sid suddenly shot her a look that clearly said _I got this_.

Zaeed appeared more thoughtful than angry now. "If you're so good, why haven't you gone after him to get your precious credits?"

"As nice as credits are, this galaxy is run on a more powerful currency," Sid answered and rolled her eyes impatiently when everyone was confused. "Favours."

Zaeed slowly lowered his rifle, watching her suspiciously. "Why do something for free when you can get paid to do it."

"Precisely," Sid confirmed. "And why ask for credits when favours are so much more useful? Besides, Vido's pissed off a lot of people. Someone's bound to ask me to find him."

Zaeed finally put his rifle away. "And what favour would you ask of me?"

"Hard to say but I imagine it having to do with a lot of explosives," she answered thoughtfully.

"You have a deal." With that, the experienced mercenary turned around and marched off again.

Sid turned to face Shepard like nothing had happened. "So, what do you have to eat around here? I'm starving."


	4. Privacy

**Thank you once again for all of your reviews, favourites and alerts. I really do appreciate them.**

**On a side note, I also realised I've overlooked the mutual happiness of Shepard and Sid being brought back together but then with them protecting each other from Cerberus, it also occurred to me that any really happy gestures – hugging, girlish squeals of delight and the like – would attract suspicion, especially from Chambers and Miranda. We'll definitely have a sisterly bonding moment soon, just as soon as they get out of Cerberus' watchful gaze.**

**Chapter 4: Privacy**

Sid stared into the clear water of the empty fish tank in Jo's quarters – commonly referred to as the Loft. She was trying to put all the puzzle pieces together as she revisited many conversations that had happened over the past two and a half years that she didn't really take the time to fully examine because it was too painful to think about. Liara asking for help to recover Jo's remains for Cerberus while keeping the Shadow Broker busy. A threatening call from the Shadow Broker, warning her that she was meddling in things she couldn't even begin to understand. The Illusive Man personally calling Sid to sign up for a suicide mission, alongside Operative Miranda Lawson and Mr Jacob Taylor without giving any other information. Rumours talking about the sudden reappearance of Commander Shepard and her betrayal.

Sid never thought much of Liara's willingness to help Cerberus or the Shadow Broker's involvement until now. In her mind, Liara was just clinging to the past and refusing to move on with her life. Cerberus obviously wanted Jo's remains for some twisted experiment to bring her back to life but what did the Shadow Broker want with her? The Broker rarely did anything out of the goodness of his heart – assuming he had one – and Sid couldn't stop her imagination from speculating. Did the Shadow Broker know the Collectors were coming? And even then, why would the Collectors want Jo's remains? The speculation took a sudden dark turn and Sid had to shake her head to snap out of it and then turned to face the Loft, trying to return to a happier mood.

Working for the private sector certainly had its perks. The Loft was spacious with a large double bed that looked really comfortable and a large wardrobe in the far corner. It had originally kept Jo's Cerberus off duty uniform (apparently, Cerberus got a good deal for buying in bulk because _everyone_ was wearing the exact same uniform) and some loose fitting clothes that she used for sleeping or exercising. She had made some space and Sid now kept her clothes in there too. A desk was pushed along one wall and beside it, sofas lined the corner with a sleek coffee table. A couple of steps led up to the "office area", as Jo referred to it, which had a desk with a computer terminal and lots of datapads and files. The bedroom and office was divided by a large display case that Jo was starting to fill with model spaceships.

Cerberus also had a very specific colour palette: black and white. Sid didn't complain and her gaze focused on the skylight that looked out into space. As nice as presentation was, Sid seriously doubted much thought went into functionality. For one, the fish tank was quite a safety risk. One crack in the glass and there would be water everywhere. For another, the skylight was an extremely bad idea. Jo had died by suffocating in space (she had agreed to relate the details to Sid) and they build a window just above her head? Sid shook her own head in disappointment. Perhaps she could make a flap to cover the window, if only to preserve what was left of Jo's sanity.

After Zaeed threatened Sid in front of the entire crew, she and Jo managed to find a quiet spot to chat. Jo admitted that she was having bad nightmares that kept her up pretty much all the time and after her disastrous reunion with Kaidan, she was having trouble keeping it all together. Sid didn't get all the details about Horizon but she could see it really hurt Jo so she kept her questions to herself. Regardless, Sid understood immediately and because she rarely slept as a lifestyle choice, she wouldn't mind being Jo's roommate. They would share the computer terminal and Jo would keep the bed while Sid would take the sofa. Miranda had already sent up extra pillows and blankets so there was no problem there. And the sofa was actually pretty comfortable.

Jo had left Sid to her own devices while she went to have a chat with Zaeed about his behaviour and to decide on their next destination. Sid stopped by the armoury to store her weapons and move her hardsuit from the Cargo Hold. Jacob was very interested in her weapons, explosives and inventions but he agreed not to take anything apart without her permission. Afterwards, she took some of her stuff to the Loft to get settled in and had been introduced to EDI. Since reaching the Loft, Sid was at a loss of what to do. On the _Hermes_, they were always doing something: eating, drinking, playing cards, sparring, receiving jobs, testing inventions…always something. Cerberus didn't seem to understand the concept of down time. Regardless, Sid activated her omni-tool to check her mail when it pinged softly, alerting her to the presence of multiple bugs in the vicinity.

Sid narrowed her eyes in annoyance and immediately got to work. Forty five minutes later, Sid marched into Miranda's office without an invitation and without knocking. Miranda lifted her head from her computer terminal in confusion. Sid ignored her as she plopped down onto one of the chairs in front of Miranda's desk and then rested her feet on the desk's edge, crossing them at the ankles. Miranda must have thought this was another instance of Sid testing her authority or flaunting the fact that the Illusive Man had taken a personal interest in Sid. She arranged her face into a neutral expression and regarded Sid for a moment.

"Is there something you needed, Phoenix?" Miranda asked. Ah – her refusal to acknowledge that Sid was actually Ghost.

Sid shrugged. "Not really. I just figured privacy wasn't that important on this boat."

Miranda resisted the urge to correct her about the _ship_ and raised one delicate eyebrow in a questioning look. Sid responded by reaching into the pocket of her leather jacket and depositing a medium sized plastic bag onto Miranda's desk. Miranda's expression quickly changed from confusion to annoyance and then back to neutrality as she recognised the bugs that Sid had collected from the Loft, the elevator, the main battery, the Medical Lab, the Mess Hall and the conference room. She had used the excuse that she was exploring and gaining her bearings so no one interfered. She had offered to help Mordin search his area for bugs but he had apparently dealt with that already. Sid was quite surprised that Miranda didn't realise a good portion of bugs had stopped responding or that EDI hadn't snitched on her.

"I know you're working hard to convince Commander Shepard to trust you and Cerberus," Sid remarked pleasantly. "It would be a shame if she found out you bugged her quarters."

Miranda narrowed her eyes but it was hard to tell if it was annoyance or anger. Maybe it was both. "What are you proposing?"

Sid shrugged, acting like she hadn't given this much thought. "Your crew has already signed over their lives for this suicide mission. Are bugs really necessary?"

"After the incident in the Mess Hall, I believe the necessity is quite obvious," Miranda pointed out icily.

"And yet, you were still caught off guard," Sid argued and she pretended not to notice the death glare she received. "Crew morale could either make this mission or break it. How devoted to the cause do you think they'll be if they find out their employer doesn't even trust them."

"They are necessary to monitor the wellbeing of all crew members," Miranda replied and Sid could have sworn the temperature dropped a few degrees.

She raised a sceptical eyebrow. "You don't really believe that, do you?" She let the question hang for a moment or two before finally answering the question of what she was proposing. "Privacy is more important than you would think so keep the bugs out of the Loft, the elevator, the medical bay and any area that crew members use as a private area and we won't have a problem."

"That's a pretty tall order for something so small," Miranda challenged and there was the slightest glint of victory in her gaze.

Sid smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Oh right. I completely forgot to add that if you don't, I'll make sure you're registered as the next Consort and that the entire galaxy is aware of that."

Miranda gave her a 'you have got to me kidding me' look. "That's the best threat you can come up with?"

"Nah," Sid admitted casually. "Just the most creative but I don't think you understand the full implications. Cerberus relies on anonymity and the moment an operative's identity gets out, they become a liability. You know Cerberus better than me. Would the Illusive Man tolerate your face all over the extranet?" The look of victory disappeared immediately but Sid wasn't done yet. She continued in a sweet voice. "You really don't want to give me a reason to go looking up your past, Miss Lawson. You might not like what I find."

They continued to stare each other down, willing the other one to blink first and admit defeat. Miranda didn't completely understand Sid's motives, especially because the threat was far too severe when she only wanted other people's privacy. It just didn't make sense and Sid loved it. Since noticing that Yeoman Kelly Chambers was trying very hard to watch her and try to learn what made her tick, Sid decided the best course of action would be to tick unpredictably and sow a bit of chaos. Cerberus hated chaos and Sid enjoyed the frustrated looks on Chambers' face when she didn't get the answer she wanted.

"Fine," Miranda finally agreed. "You win…this time."

Sid kicked her feet off the desk and stood up. "Excellent."

She returned to the Loft and wasn't surprised to find Jo on her computer terminal. It was at that moment that Sid noticed the framed picture of Kaidan beside the computer. It looked like a picture taken from some news report and he had also changed a bit physically. He had put on a lot more muscle, that much was clear. Since the aftermath of Jo's funeral, Sid had not had any contact with him at all but she still kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't stray too far into business that didn't concern him. He took Jo's death hard and dove head first into work, putting the job and all of its demands ahead of his own needs. He had become an exemplary soldier which meant the Alliance would send him into more dangerous missions. Sid did her best to limit the danger without him knowing or ever coming face to face with him. To her, it was payback for the times he had saved her life.

"Where've you been?" Jo suddenly asked, bringing Sid back to the present. She was still seated in the office chair by the computer terminal but she had rotated it so she could face Sid.

"Getting acquainted," Sid answered.

Jo didn't look entirely convinced. "Zaeed agreed to leave you alone in the future…at least until the mission is done."

Sid wasn't surprised. "Or until I find Vido for him."

"You don't believe he's a man of his word?" Jo asked in mock surprise.

Sid smiled. "Where we going?"

"Haestrom," Jo answered easily. "Intel on Thane Krios and Justicar Samara is still…fuzzy and we don't have a confirmed fix just yet but Tali is definitely on Haestrom."

"Well, I've always wanted to work on my tan," Sid replied.

"I have a question, if you'll indulge me," Jo said.

Sid had no idea where this was going or what prompted the sudden change in conversation. "Shoot."

"What's with the phoenix persona?"

Sid chuckled. "During the time I was helping you hunt Saren, there were a lot of people pretending to be Ghost and because I did such a great job hiding my identity, no one would take a chance with hiring Ghost. A select few knew my real identity so they still hired me but I needed to get more work."

"So you created a new identity," Jo realised.

"Indeed," Sid continued and peered curiously at the collected starships. "I made some changes to the way I operate, such as letting people match a face to the name, and became Phoenix…rising from the ashes of Ghost's ruined reputation."

"How very…poetic," Jo replied.

Sid shrugged. "It wasn't my idea but it has grown on me. Besides, I can ruin a deal and blame Ghost but still get work as Phoenix. It's pretty helpful, actually."

Jo looked at her in disbelief. "You're nuts."

Sid smiled proudly. "I have been called worse things."

"And the ship?"

"_Hermes_?" Sid asked. "In Greek mythology, he's the messenger of the gods as well as the god of mischief. Seemed fitting."

"Garrus mentioned you disappeared after…" Jo left the sentence hanging because they both knew what she meant and neither of them actually wanted to talk about it.

Sid leant against the wall, choosing her words carefully. "You were the only person keeping me in Citadel Space, the only reason why I had the opportunity to do any good. Without you…there was nothing keeping me there so I returned to the Terminus Systems. If I had gone to see Garrus, Liara, Tali and Wrex in person…well, they probably would have given me reasons to stay and I wasn't sure I could do that."

Jo was quiet for a long moment. "I'm glad you're here, Sid."

Sid smiled sadly. "Me too, Jojo."

* * *

The _Normandy_ was nearing Haestrom when Shepard made her way down to the Mess Hall. She still hadn't decided who to bring with. Garrus was looking forward to seeing Tali again and his presence might be enough to convince Tali to help Cerberus. Bringing Sid also seemed like a good idea. She and Tali got along well and Shepard was curious to see what Sid was capable of in the field. After New Canton, it was pretty clear Sid had upped her game but Zaeed and Jack were starting to get restless. They were both so accustomed to everyday violence that spending so much time on a ship frustrated them. Grunt enjoyed violence but he didn't depend on it. After the stunt in the Mess Hall, Shepard wasn't going to risk taking Zaeed and Sid on a mission together. Maybe Garrus, Jack and Sid?

Just as those names crossed her mind, Shepard walked in on a peculiar situation. Most of the crew members were gathered around a table and were chanting…something. It was too muddled to make out clearly. The non-Cerberus members of the ground squad were also gathered there to watch… Shepard craned her head around the crowd and was rendered speechless. Jack and Sid were having an arm wrestling competition and most of the crew was cheering one or the other's name. Kasumi was sitting in a nearby chair and was apparently handling credits as people placed their bets. Zaeed was behind Jack, cheering her on with various uses of the word "goddamn" and Garrus was behind Sid's chair, muttering something about squishy humans.

Sid and Jack's brows were both coated in a light mist of sweat and both of their faces were contorted by the effort of the competition. Apparently, they were evenly matched and they both refused to give in. Their hands that were clasped together shook but didn't move too far to either side. Sid's free hand was gripping the table's surface to keep upright while Jack's grip was more about leverage. Shepard was surprised to see Yeoman Chambers loitering around nearby and Dr Chakwas was trying her hardest to pretend she wasn't watching through the Medical Bay's large window. Mordin was standing nearby with a datapad and was apparently taking notes. Shepard had anticipated that Sid would have an unexpected effect on the crew but she never guessed this would happen…ever.

Shepard wandered over to Chambers. "What's going on?"

Chambers let out a startled squeak and looked like she was expecting a lecture at any moment. Or perhaps some yelling. "Jack and Phoenix had an argument about who was the better criminal. It deteriorated into…this." She gestured widely at the room.

"Best two out of three?" Shepard guessed.

Chambers nodded with a surprised look on her face. "It's still round one."

Shepard nodded in Mordin's direction. "And Dr Solus?"

"He mentioned something about being curious whether biotic strength has influence over physical strength and this gave him an opportunity to observe." Chambers peered at Shepard curiously. "You're not angry about this?"

Shepard almost smiled. "Phoenix brings a unique… energy to the table and this isn't an Alliance vessel. As long as she doesn't break the ship, why should I be angry about it?"

Chambers' reply was cut off by enthusiastic cheers and unhappy boos. When Shepard looked up, Sid and Jack were flexing their hands and massaging their upper arms. Neither person looked happy about the outcome which probably meant it was a draw. Only a handful of crew members looked happy and Dr Chakwas was one of them. Kasumi was another and she started to divide the credits and made the others pay up.

"I don't fucking believe it," Jack growled and flexed her hand into a tight fist.

Sid shrugged and obviously had a retort lined up but she noticed Shepard. "Hey Commander."

The effect that those two words had was…amusing. The crew members saluted hastily before clearing out of the room in a matter of moments, quickly leaving only the ground squad members looking around in surprise. Sid leant back in her chair, laughing at the sudden quiet and Shepard suspected she knew that would happen. Even Chambers vacated the area. The ground squad had spent enough time with Shepard to learn when she was actually angry which was why none of them had fled.

"Hey, Shep," Kasumi greeted brightly.

"Arm wrestling?" Shepard asked with an incredulous look.

"Simple way to show physical dominance," Mordin supplied helpfully. "Strength in biotics is not a sign of physical strength. More research is necessary."

There was a moment of awkward silence following that statement.

Shepard was the first one to break the silence. "Where's Grunt? I would have thought he'd be interested in this."

"He muttered something about being hungry and was disappointed by the lack of actual hitting," Garrus explained. "So he left. Didn't even place a bet."

"He did agree to take the winner though," Sid piped up.

Shepard was hoping that Sid was joking. "Please don't tell me that sounds like a good idea to you."

Sid gave her an unimpressed look. "When have I ever struck you as someone who has good ideas?"

Shepard was quiet for a moment. "Good point. I'm glad you two are getting along though."

Sid and Jack shared a confused look.

"What part of arm wrestling looked like we were 'getting along'?" Sid asked with a blank look.

Jack scoffed. "She couldn't hold out in a _real_ fight."

Shepard was surprised when Sid let the comment go. "Well, you're both coming with me to Haestrom, along with Garrus, so you better play nice."

Sid fist bumped Garrus excitedly while Jack let off a string of colourful language as she made her way towards the elevator. Apparently, Jack really didn't like Sid. Mordin and Zaeed also took this moment to leave. Mordin most likely wanted to examine his 'data' though Shepard doubted this display actually proved anything. As soon as they were gone, Kasumi passed along a portion of the credits to Sid. Sid then took some and passed them to Garrus. A moment later, it was like nothing happened and Shepard was fairly certain she just witnessed them fixing the arm wrestling matches. It also suddenly occurred to her that Sid and Kasumi had a certain familiarity between them.

"You know each other," Shepard commented, eying the thief and the smuggler.

Sid snorted indelicately. "Of course we know each other. We met on your ship, remember?"

Even Garrus laughed as Shepard rolled her eyes impatiently. "Not you and Garrus. You and Kasumi."

"Of course, Shep," Kasumi responded easily. "How does an expert thief get around the galaxy?"

"By hiring an expert smuggler," Sid answered with an air of smugness. "Speaking of…I have my crew assembling the stuff you need."

Kasumi smiled. "Exactly to specs?"

"Of course. Should be done a few days ahead of schedule. We can organise delivery closer to the time," Sid continued, like no one else was there and Kasumi was nodding in agreement.

Shepard exchanged a look with Garrus and was relieved to know he had no clue either. When Garrus and Shepard focused on the conversation again, Sid and Kasumi were now talking about their favourite methods of bypassing security. Shepard guessed this had to do with Kasumi's request when Cerberus approached her. The thief had been vague with the information and had mentioned a heist during some fancy party but beyond that, she had said little about it. Kasumi had promised to give Shepard all of the details once the party was confirmed and everything was in place. Shepard suspected that there was more to Sid and Kasumi's relationship than business.

"I hate to interrupt this comparing of notes and all," Shepard said. "But we do need to focus on business."

"To be continued," Sid told Kasumi.

The thief smiled. "Looking forward to it."

A moment later, she was gone and Shepard couldn't help but wonder if Kasumi was going to hang around, only cloaked. She didn't mind. From the Cerberus selected crew members, Shepard rather liked Kasumi. She was fun and liked to laugh. It also didn't feel like she was plotting to stab Shepard in the back at the first opportunity so Shepard often spent her time in Kasumi's quarters to relax and chat. Kasumi also had the most interesting collection of items and she didn't mind sharing her stories. Shepard took a seat in an empty chair opposite Sid and Garrus sat down beside her. He helped share the burden of tactical thinking lately and Shepard had come to depend on his presence over Jacob.

"So…to business?" Sid prompted.

Shepard almost smiled at how familiar this was and how much it reminded her of the old days. "What do we know about Haestrom?"

Sid's omni-tool lit up immediately. "It was originally a quarian colony but they lost it to the geth. It is now in geth controlled space."

"I'll tell Joker to keep _Normandy_'s stealth drives engaged," Shepard decided and she noticed the barest acknowledgement of his name on Sid's face.

"That would probably be best," Sid agreed in a steady voice. "Communication is also difficult. There is heavy interference so once we're on the planet, communication with _Normandy_ will be difficult."

"Perhaps EDI can compensate?" Garrus suggested.

_::I will attempt to do so, Officer Vakarian, however any attempts at off world communication may attract Geth attention.::_

Shepard tried to ignore the feelings of annoyance that followed. It was a good suggestion and tactically sound but she just didn't trust EDI. Anything created by Cerberus had the potential to stab her in the back or make their lives hell. EDI's presence also made some jobs obsolete and in an Alliance setting, it would mean no work for many good soldiers. Besides, Shepard preferred the old fashioned way of doing things which was why Sid was giving her report and not EDI. And they had managed to track down Saren without the help of an illegal AI. Sid must have picked up on her annoyance because she smiled in amusement but she said nothing.

"Noted, EDI," Shepard answered. "We'll be careful."

Sid's amusement faded and she raised an eyebrow instead. "I've also discovered two safety warnings that forbade any civilian travel."

"High Geth presence and the sun?" Shepard guessed in a teasing tone.

Sid shot her a look. "The warnings aren't the interesting part."

"Really?" Garrus asked. "I would have thought the warnings are fairly important."

"If all civilian travel to the planet is forbidden, then what is Tali doing there?" Sid elaborated with an impatient sigh.

It was a good question and Shepard brought up her own omni-tool. "Cerberus' dossier only states that she is on a classified mission for the Admiralty Board. Nothing more."

"We can rule out any military missions," Garrus stated. Even though Tali was pretty good with a shotgun, she wasn't a soldier. "Probably something scientific?"

"We know the Quarians are interested in learning how far the geth had developed over the years," Sid stated, thinking out loud.

"There are easier ways than going deep into Geth territory," Shepard pointed out.

"It does seem like the extreme method," Sid agreed.

They descended into silence as they tried to find a possible explanation for Tali's mission although they would find out in a few hours. Shepard made sure to forward all information on Haestrom to Jack even though she suspected Jack rarely read mission briefings. As long as she was allowed to blast things with her shotgun, she was happy. Shepard's gaze returned to Sid as she focused on her omni-tool. Shepard still couldn't believe her luck that her little sister had re-joined the mission and it was frustrating that she couldn't express her happiness, not while Cerberus was watching their every move.

It was pretty obvious that everyone had changed to varying degrees but Shepard didn't want Sid to change, not in the ways she had. There was something about watching Sid plant explosives in a large group of mercs that was…unsettling. Sid was annoying, childish, sarcastic and crazy but she had always respected what taking a life meant and how it affected her. Now…Shepard wasn't so sure if she liked this version of Sid although she did show some restraint. There was also something guarded about her expression. It hadn't been there on New Canton when they talked or even on the shuttle while in the presence of Miranda, a confirmed member of Cerberus.

The more Shepard thought about it, the more she was convinced it was because of Joker. Whatever happened must have really affected her and she was reluctant – scared, even – to face Joker again. Shepard could understand the apprehension of not knowing where you stood with the man you deeply cared about – she'd felt the same away when she realised the possibility of coming face to face with Kaidan on Horizon – and while that blew up in her face quite spectacularly, she doubted Joker would react in the same way. For one, he wouldn't accuse Sid of being a traitor or faking her death.

"You should talk to him," Shepard suggested quietly.

Sid looked up from her omni-tool and she was immediately tense. "Who?" she asked although it was pretty obvious she knew the answer.

"Joker," Shepard answered.

Sid tore her eyes away and focused on her omni-tool again, probably in an attempt to end the conversation. "I tried that once. It didn't go well."

"That was an emotional situation," Shepard pointed out patiently.

"And Kaidan didn't exactly help," Garrus added.

Between Garrus and Dr Chakwas, Shepard had been related the whole story of what happened between Kaidan and Joker and subsequently, between Sid and Joker. They didn't know what happened after Joker told Sid to leave him alone because after that, it was like Sid disappeared off the Citadel. No one else recalled seeing her and she never appeared at Chora's Den. Shepard even suspected Sid of keeping a few key details to herself after her earlier explanation.

Sid turned off her omni-tool and looked between them. "He made his feelings for me clear. He's also made it clear that he wants nothing to do with me. If that's all?"

Before either of them could answer, Sid left the Mess Hall and finally ended the conversation. So, she believed that whatever Joker told her he meant it and had never had feelings for her in the first place. Shepard didn't quite understand their relationship – probably because she thought they were equally annoying – but it had been pretty clear to her that Joker had feelings for Sid. How could Sid think he never cared for her? It suddenly occurred to Shepard that Sid had never mentioned any prior relationships. Shepard had made a decision to avoid any such thing as long as she was in the Alliance. It made sense to her and she never really believed anyone would be so accepting of her background: an orphan who survived Mindoir, the hero of the Skyllian Blitz and a soldier who could throw a better punch that most male soldiers. A lot of men were intimidated by her.

And then she met Kaidan. He didn't care about any of that. Sid was another matter entirely. She had spent most of her childhood with Batarians and she never said how long she stayed with them. And as a smuggler, she met a lot of people who were either criminals or out to kill her. Not exactly a great way to meet a man. If this really was her first relationship, as Shepard strongly suspected, then this was also her first break up which meant she was taking it _really_ hard. When Shepard glanced at Garrus, she noticed an irked expression, mirroring her own. He must have come to a similar explanation and he had apparently taken over the role of Sid's big brother.

"Joker needs to talk to her," he finally said.

Despite the situation, Shepard actually smiled. "I never thought I'd be playing match maker for my helmsman." _And little sister._

Garrus chuckled softly. Even though the last part went unsaid, he knew she was thinking it. "The Reaper invasion could begin at any moment and our decisions affect the fate of Humanity but there's always time for romance."

They shared in a laugh. Shepard had no idea what she would do without Garrus.


End file.
